Gravel driveway cost in La Crosse, WI
Local estimate from BLS wage data and BEA price levels. Reviewed Nov 4, 2026.
- Typical range (1,000 sq ft)
- $2,700 – $11,000
- Per sq ft
- $2.70 – $11
- before permit
- Versus US midpoint
- +8%
- US $6,350
- Rank of 300 metros
- #76
- 1 = most expensive
La Crosse homeowners pay roughly $2,700 to $11,000 to install a gravel driveway at 1,000 sq ft, or $2.70 to $11 per sq ft (permit not included). Against the US midpoint, La Crosse is 8% higher. Construction laborers earn a median of $28.32 an hour in the La Crosse area, 25% above the US median of $22.66.
Estimate your gravel driveway cost
Pick a size, a quality level and where you live. Prices update as you type.
Estimated cost for 1,000 sq ft in La Crosse, WI, standard level
$5,200 to $8,500
About $5.15 to $8.35 per sq ft before permits. Labor is about 56% of the bill.
| Part | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | $2,200 | $3,600 |
| Labor | $2,950 | $4,750 |
| Permits and fees | $55 | $130 |
| Total | $5,200 | $8,500 |
Cost breakdown for 1,000 sq ft in La Crosse, WI
| Part of the job | Low | Midpoint | High | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Materials | $1,150 | $2,900 | $4,700 | 42% |
| Labor | $1,600 | $3,850 | $6,100 | 56% |
| Permits and fees | $0 | $90 | $180 | 1% |
| Total | $2,700 | $6,850 | $11,000 | 100% |
What is behind the La Crosse number
Labor is 56% of the midpoint bill here, against 50% nationally. The mix of trades behind this job is construction laborers (50%), operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (50%). We weight each trade's local median wage by that share and compare it with the national median. In La Crosse the blended ratio comes out at 1.22.
On the materials line, the BEA goods price index for the La Crosse metro is 93.8 (US = 100). The midpoint materials bill for 1,000 sq ft comes to $2,900, compared with $3,100 at national prices. Permit and inspection fees are scaled by the broader index (91.8) and land at $0 to $180.
How La Crosse compares
Contractors rarely work more than an hour or two from home, so the neighboring metros set a rough ceiling and floor for your quotes. Midpoints for 1,000 sq ft range from $6,250 to $7,250 across La Crosse and its five closest metros.
| Area | Range | Midpoint | vs. here |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Crosse, WIthis page | $2,700 – $11,000 | $6,850 | |
| Rochester, MN65 miles | $2,850 – $11,400 | $7,150 | +4% |
| Dubuque, IA85 miles | $2,450 – $10,000 | $6,250 | −9% |
| Eau Claire, WI85 miles | $2,750 – $11,100 | $6,950 | +1% |
| Madison, WI85 miles | $2,800 – $11,400 | $7,100 | +4% |
| Waterloo, IA105 miles | $2,900 – $11,600 | $7,250 | +6% |
| Wisconsin (statewide) | $2,700 – $11,000 | $6,850 | level |
| United States | $2,500 – $10,200 | $6,350 | −7% |
Across 300 US metros, La Crosse comes in at #76 from the top. The priciest is Kahului, HI at $9,500; the cheapest is McAllen, TX at $5,200 (midpoints, 1,000 sq ft). Statewide, La Crosse is 0% below the Wisconsin figure.
Other Wisconsin metros
| Metro | Size | Range | Midpoint | vs. here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee, WI | 820,780 jobs | $2,800 – $11,200 | $7,000 | +2% |
| Madison, WI | 408,070 jobs | $2,800 – $11,400 | $7,100 | +4% |
| Green Bay, WI | 174,550 jobs | $2,700 – $11,000 | $6,850 | level |
| Appleton, WI | 124,230 jobs | $2,850 – $11,500 | $7,150 | +5% |
| Oshkosh, WI | 93,750 jobs | $2,650 – $10,800 | $6,750 | −2% |
| Eau Claire, WI | 86,060 jobs | $2,750 – $11,100 | $6,950 | +1% |
Cities with a workforce like La Crosse's
Big cities and small ones price differently, so here is La Crosse against the 4 metros with the closest total employment.
| Metro | Size | Range | Midpoint | vs. here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson, TN | 84,530 jobs | $2,300 – $9,300 | $5,800 | −15% |
| Waterloo, IA | 84,260 jobs | $2,900 – $11,600 | $7,250 | +6% |
| Eau Claire, WI | 86,060 jobs | $2,750 – $11,100 | $6,950 | +1% |
| Houma, LA | 83,440 jobs | $2,150 – $8,850 | $5,500 | −20% |
Specs and site conditions that change a La Crosse bid
Labor share
HomeGuide puts labor at about 50% of a gravel driveway's total cost, so a longer or harder-to-reach site moves the price more than the stone does.
Grading and edging
Grading runs $1-$3 per sq ft. Edging to keep the stone in is $5-$18 per linear foot.
Stone is sold by weight
Stone is priced by the ton, so every extra inch of depth or foot of width adds loads of delivery.
Related projects, priced for La Crosse
Because every project leans on different trades, La Crosse's wage level does not move all prices equally. Against the US midpoint, French drain runs +15% and sod installation −2%.
| Project | Size | Range | vs. US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asphalt driveway | 600 sq ft | $3,200 – $7,950 | +6% |
| Concrete driveway | 600 sq ft | $3,850 – $9,850 | +7% |
| French drain | 60 linear ft | $690 – $2,400 | +15% |
| Sod installation | 1,500 sq ft | $1,450 – $3,200 | −2% |
| Concrete slab | 400 sq ft | $2,500 – $5,250 | +2% |
| Paver patio | 300 sq ft | $3,300 – $6,000 | +10% |
When to schedule gravel driveway in La Crosse
We use NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals for La Crosse Wfo (5 miles from the city center). These are 30-year monthly averages, not forecasts.
April through October is the stretch where digging, grading and setting material in the ground runs into the fewest weather problems in La Crosse (7 of 12 months). January, February, March, November and December have an average overnight low at or below freezing (32°F).
In January, February, March, November and December the average low is at or below freezing, which means frozen ground and slower digging, compaction and sod or stone placement. NOAA counts about 148 days a year with a low at or below 32°F at this station.
La Crosse gets about 37 inches of precipitation in a normal year, including roughly 54 inches of snow. The wettest months are May, June and August (5.3 inches in June). Inside the workable window, September and October are the driest, at 4.0 and 2.9 inches. The station averages about 3 days a year at 90°F or above.
Does the season change the price? Probably, but we do not have a sourced seasonal price curve, so the estimator shows a year-round figure and does not adjust by month. When you collect quotes, ask whether scheduling in a slower month gets a better rate.
| Month | Avg high °F | Avg low °F | Precip (in) | For this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 8 | 1.1 | Cold |
| Feb | 29 | 13 | 1.1 | Cold |
| Mar | 41 | 24 | 1.9 | Cold |
| Apr | 55 | 36 | 4.0 | Workable |
| May | 67 | 48 | 4.9 | Workable |
| Jun | 76 | 58 | 5.3 | Workable |
| Jul | 80 | 62 | 4.3 | Workable |
| Aug | 78 | 60 | 4.5 | Workable |
| Sep | 71 | 52 | 4.0 | Workable |
| Oct | 58 | 40 | 2.9 | Workable |
| Nov | 42 | 28 | 1.9 | Cold |
| Dec | 29 | 15 | 1.5 | Cold |
Add-ons priced for La Crosse
Extras are quoted nationally and then scaled to La Crosse by the average of the local wage index (1.22) and goods index (0.94), a factor of 1.08. Tick any of them in the estimator above to add them to your total. Treat these as planning figures: an add-on touches different trades than the main job, so the scaling is an approximation.
| Add-on | Local range |
|---|---|
| Add edging (approx. 1 ft per 10 sq ft) | $540 – $1,950 |
La Crosse: what basic, standard and premium work costs
Three bands are cut from the same cited range and localized for La Crosse wages and prices. They overlap on purpose: a good standard job and a modest premium job can cost the same. The grid below prices the same bands at 4 common sizes.
Basic
$2,700 to $6,000
Crusher-run spread and compacted on firm ground
Standard
$5,200 to $8,500
Excavated base plus top course, fabric, light grading
Premium
$7,650 to $11,000
Deep multi-layer build, edging, culvert or drainage
| Size | Basic | Standard | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| single car (500 sq ft) | $1,350 – $3,050 | $2,600 – $4,300 | $3,900 – $5,600 |
| two car (1,000 sq ft) | $2,700 – $6,000 | $5,200 – $8,500 | $7,650 – $11,000 |
| 100 ft x 10 ft (1,000 sq ft) | $2,700 – $6,000 | $5,200 – $8,500 | $7,650 – $11,000 |
| long rural (2,000 sq ft) | $5,450 – $12,000 | $10,300 – $16,900 | $15,200 – $21,800 |
Local wages behind the labor line
Wages are the part of this estimate that changes most from town to town. 2 trades carry the job here, and each is compared with its US median. The weighted result for La Crosse is 1.22 times the national level.
Construction laborers (47-2061), 50% of the weighting: a median of $28.32 an hour, 25% above the US median of $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $22.49 and $35.41 an hour. About 610 work in the metro. That is 72.3 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 70.5 nationally, so the supply of crews looks typical.
For operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (47-2073, weighted 50%) the local median is $34.34 an hour, which is 19% above the national $28.78. The middle half of them earn between $28.40 and $44.77 an hour. BLS counts 120 of them working in the area, 14.2 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 30.7), so the local bench is thinner than average.
Quotes come from real crews, not medians. If the construction laborers on your job are paid at the 75th percentile ($35.41 an hour) instead of the median, the labor line grows by about $490. At the 25th percentile ($22.49) it shrinks by about $410. The total moves by 7.2% or 5.9%, so wages alone rarely explain a quote that is far outside our range.
For context on the local economy, BLS counts 84,380 jobs in the La Crosse-Onalaska area. That makes it the 228th largest of the 300 metros we cover, with 0.05% of US employment.
| Trade | Weight | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct | US median | Ratio | Level used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction laborers (47-2061) | 50% | $22.49 | $28.32 | $35.41 | $22.66 | 1.25 | metro |
| Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (47-2073) | 50% | $28.40 | $34.34 | $44.77 | $28.78 | 1.19 | metro |
| Blended | 100% | 1.22 | |||||
Get 3 local quotes
Tell us about the job and we will try to connect you with up to three local contractors for written quotes. It is free and you are under no obligation to hire. Your estimate of $5,200 to $8,500 for La Crosse, WI is attached.
Detailed gravel driveway report for La Crosse, WI, $9
The report lays out the gravel driveway numbers for La Crosse, WI line by line, with the local wage and price inputs, permit and timing notes, a quote comparison sheet and the full method. Save your estimate above, preview page 1 free, and unlock the full report for $9 one-time, or get every report with CostLocal Pro.
Gravel driveway in La Crosse: your questions
+How much does it cost to install a gravel driveway in La Crosse?
For 1,000 sq ft, expect $2,700 to $11,000 in the La Crosse area. A standard-spec job lands at $5,200 to $8,500. Small jobs usually cost more per sq ft and large ones less.
+What is the price per sq ft for gravel driveway in La Crosse?
About $2.70 to $11 per sq ft for materials and labor, plus $0 to $180 for the permit if one is needed. The US range is $2.50 to $10.
+Is gravel driveway cheaper in La Crosse or Rochester?
Rochester is 65 miles away. The midpoint for 1,000 sq ft there is $7,150, which is 4% more than La Crosse ($6,850). Wage and materials indexes both feed that gap.
+How much of the bill is labor in La Crosse?
About 56% at the midpoint, or $3,850 out of $6,850. Materials are 42% and permits 1%. Nationally, labor is 50%.
+What would 100 ft x 10 ft (1,000 sq ft) cost in La Crosse?
$2,700 to $11,000. Pick a different size in the estimator above to get your own number.
+Does gravel driveway need a permit in La Crosse?
Often, but rules are set by your city or county building office, so call before you hire. Budget $0 to $180 for fees in the La Crosse area (our national range of $0 to $200 scaled by the local price level).
+Is La Crosse expensive for gravel driveway compared with the rest of Wisconsin?
La Crosse is 0% below the Wisconsin statewide estimate ($6,850 at the midpoint). We cover 12 metros in Wisconsin; see the state page to compare them.
+What do construction laborers earn in La Crosse?
The BLS median is $28.32 an hour in the La Crosse area, compared with $22.66 nationally. The 25th to 75th percentile range is $22.49 to $35.41.
+What do basic and premium gravel driveway work cost in La Crosse?
For 1,000 sq ft, basic work runs $2,700 to $6,000 and premium work $7,650 to $11,000. Basic means: crusher-run spread and compacted on firm ground. Premium means: deep multi-layer build, edging, culvert or drainage.
+When is the best time to install a gravel driveway in La Crosse?
Based on NOAA 1991-2020 normals, the comfortable months for this kind of work are April through October. September and October are typically the driest of those months. Local contractors' schedules matter as much as the weather, so book early for the busy months.
+What does "add edging" add in La Crosse?
$540 to $1,950 for 1,000 sq ft, from a national range scaled by the local wage and goods indexes.
Gravel driveway near La Crosse
Where these numbers come from
Base prices are national ranges from the sources below. We scale labor by local BLS wages, materials by BEA goods prices and permits by the BEA all-items price level. Full method on the methodology page.
- HomeGuide: How Much Does a Gravel Driveway Cost? (2026) (accessed November 4, 2026)
- CalculateGravel: Gravel Driveway Cost in 2026 (accessed November 4, 2026)
- HomeGuide: 2026 Building Permit Costs | Fees & Cost Calculator (accessed November 4, 2026)
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991-2020
Note on derived figures: Installed range spans a basic spread-and-compact job ($2.50/sq ft low, CalculateGravel) to a full build with excavation ($10/sq ft high, HomeGuide). Materials low end is DIY stone ($1.20/sq ft, CalculateGravel); high end is half of HomeGuide's $10 because it says labor is about 50% of the project.